The Ballerina & The Devil

Twenty Eight. Two Pieces of a Broken Heart

A/N: The song on the mediabox is Two Pieces by Demi (lol) Lovato. This song is basically Daidan's anthem in all honesty. Give it a listen, and enjoy the chapter :)

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Aidan was opening up to me.

Aidan trusted me.

Aidan was opening up to me, and he trusted me.

This was way too good to be true.

I discreetly pinched myself and winced when my nails pierced my skin. Nope, I was definitely awake.

The only time Aidan had ever opened to me was when he told me his dad abused him, and he only disclosed that because I had basically witnessed it. If it was up to him I probably wouldn't know a single thing about his home life. He was very reserved and cautious that way.

Granted, we really hadn't known each other for that long, which was weird to admit because I really was as comfortable with him as I was with Majesty, Kenzie, and Jordan. It felt like I had known him for years as opposed to weeks.

I turned my body so I was fully facing him and waited for him to speak. I didn't want to just start firing off questions and get his mood swinging violently. I really didn't want to push him, especially not when he was about to share some pretty personal information with me.

Silence stretched over us for so long that I had begun to assume he had changed his mind and wasn't going to tell me anything.

"My father, to put it into words, is an addicted bastard who can't go sixty seconds without poisoning his body and mind with alcohol," Aidan began, a flatness to his voice. "When he isn't at home terrorizing his kids, he's at a bar getting wasted. He doesn't work and has no motive to achieve anything worthwhile in life."

"How does he pay the bills if he doesn't work?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"He gets a check from the government," he snorted. "Which is one of the main reasons he doesn't work. Why get a job when the government will give you money for sitting on your ass?"

I nodded, understanding at his annoyance. It was one thing if you just weren't capable of finding work. It was a completely other thing to take advantage of the situation.

"Whatever's left after paying the bills is used for his alcohol," Aidan said bitterly. "I buy the food, Briella's clothes, and basically anything else he doesn't see fit to pay for."

I shook my head slowly. "How do you afford all of that working just one part time job?"

"I work two part time jobs," Aidan corrected me.

He looked like he was about to say something else, so I waited for him to continue speaking, but he remained quiet.

"Two part time jobs, school everyday, and you have to take care of your sister," I was getting anxious just thinking about all the stress he must be under. No wonder he was always in such a bad mood. "That's...a lot."

"And you wonder why I smoke," he said jokingly. I didn't smile.

"That's not fair," I frowned.

"That's life, Cupcake."

"Has your dad always been that way?" I asked curiously.

"You mean has he always been an abusive, lazy drunk?" He laughed humorlessly. "For as long as I can remember, yeah, he's always been this way."